The present invention relates to a tool centering mechanism for use in various types of punch presses including turret types to center punch tools and die tools.
In some conventional tool centering mechanisms for punch presses, a die holder base 74 on which a die holder 73 is installed is mounted with bolts 75 for alignment relative to a lower turret 71, as shown in FIG. 6. In a double track, such as one shown in FIG. 6, the common die holder 73 has die tools (not shown in the drawing) for an in-track Ti and an out-track To installed therein.
A centering operation is performed by inserting a centering punch 77 into a punch installation hole 76 in an upper turret 73 and fitting the centering punch 77 in a die installation hole 78 in the die holder 73. That is, the die holder 73 is aligned using processing in the upper turret 72 as a reference.
In a double-track turret punch press, the in-track Ti and the out-track To are simultaneously centered using the processing in the upper turret 72 as a reference.
Perfect centering, however, is impossible because a pitch P2 between the in-track and the out-track in the upper turret 71 is actually slightly different from a pitch P1 between the in-track and the out-track in the lower turret 72. In addition, the die holder 73 cannot be aligned and punch tools (not shown in the drawing) cannot be aligned relative to the upper turret 72. That is, aligning refers to the action for adjusting the direction of the cross section of non-circular punches and dies so as to be mutually aligned in a longitudinal or lateral direction of the machine, and this action is impossible.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tool centering mechanism for a punch press having a plurality of tools provided in juxtaposition at a predetermined pitch and which can be simultaneously replaced with new ones, wherein the pitch of the tools can be adjusted to agree with the pitch of cooperating tools.
It is another object of the present invention to enable the cooperating tools to be locked after alignment using a simple construction and to enable various tools to be accommodated.
It is yet another object to facilitate tool replacement and a subsequent centering operation.
A tool centering mechanism for a punch press according to the present invention comprises a first support including a tool holder having a plurality of tool support sections spaced at a determined pitch and which can each support a tool, and a second support for allowing cooperating tools associated with the above tools in punching to be each installed on the axis of one of the plurality of tool support sections, and has the following features.
In this tool centering mechanism, the tool holder and one of the tools therein are provided for movement in a direction orthogonal with the axes of the first and second supports, respectively, and the tools in the second support and the cooperating tools in the first support are subjected to simulated punching to move the tool holder and the movable corresponding tool in the orthogonal direction in order to align the tool on the axis of the second support with an associated tool on the first support. The first and second supports may be different sites of an integral part.
According to this tool centering mechanism, the simulated punching causes the tool holder on the first support side to move slightly relative to the fixed corresponding tool in the second support for centering. The movable tool in the second support is moved slightly relative to the centered tool holder for centering. Thus, the pitch of the cooperating tools can be adjusted to agree with the pitch of the tools on the first support side. The simulated punching may be carried out twice. That is, during first simulated punching, the tool holder on the first support side is moved slightly relative to the fixed cooperating tool in the second support for centering to fix the tool holder to the first support. Subsequently, a second simulated punching is carried out to move the movable tool in the second support slightly relative to the centered fixed tool holder for centering.
The tools and cooperating tools used for the simulated punching may be those exclusively used for centering, that is, jigs exclusively used for centering in place of tools and cooperating tools used for actual processing.
According to the present invention, the movable cooperating tool may be installed for movement via a bush relative to the second support, and the bush may be fixed to the second support for alignment. The cooperating tool can be replaced using the bushes.
With this construction, the bush for supporting the cooperating tools is adjustably fixed to the second support, so that after adjustments to the second support, the cooperating tools can be locked suing a simple construction. In addition, since the cooperating tool can be replaced using the bush, the same tool centering mechanism can accommodate various tools.
If the bush is provided as described above, a clearance may be provided between the bush and the second support. With this clearance, in replacing the tools, the bush may be located in the second support at an approximate position before alignment, thereby facilitating tool replacement and a subsequent centering operation.
In addition, according to this tool centering mechanism, the corresponding tools are provided for independent movement in a direction orthogonal with the axis of the second support, and the tools and the corresponding tools are subjected to simulated punching to move the cooperating tools in the orthogonal direction in order to install each of the cooperating tools on the axis of a corresponding one of the tools on the first support. The first and second supports may be different sites of an integral part.
According to this tool centering mechanism, since the cooperating tools can be independently moved relative to the second support, each tool can be centered relative to a corresponding one of the tools on the first support during the simulated punching. Consequently, the pitch of the cooperating tools can be adjusted to agree with the pitch of the tools on the first support side.
The tools and cooperating tools used for the simulated punching may be those exclusively used for centering, that is, jigs exclusively used for centering in place of tools and cooperating tools used for actual processing.
In the present invention, the cooperating tools may be installed for movement via use of bushes in the second support, and the bushes may be fixed to the second support for alignment. The cooperating tools can be replaced using the bushes.
With this construction, the bush for supporting the cooperating tools is adjustably fixed to the second support, so that after adjustments to the second support, the cooperating tools can be locked using a simple construction. In addition, since the cooperating tool can be replaced using the bush, a tool centering mechanism of the same construction can accommodate various tools.
If the bushes are provided as described above, a clearance may be provided between the bush and the second support. With this clearance, in replacing the tools, the bushes may be located in the second support at approximate positions before alignment, thereby facilitating tool replacement and a subsequent centering operation.